A one-piece swimsuit most commonwy refers to swimwear worn by women and girws when swimming in de sea or in a swimming poow, pwaying water powo, or for any activity in de sun, such as sun bading. Today, de one-piece swimsuit is usuawwy a skin-tight garment dat covers de torso, except maybe de back or upper chest.

Before de popuwarity of de two-piece swimsuit, and den de bikini, virtuawwy aww women's swimwear compwetewy covered at weast de wearer's torso, and men awso wore simiwar swimsuits. Whiwe de bikini has increasingwy found popuwar acceptance since de 1960s, de one-piece swimsuit has maintained a pwace on beaches to dis day.[1]

The most common type of one-piece suit is de maiwwot (a term dat is not generawwy used any more) or tank suit, which resembwes a sweevewess weotard or bodysuit. There are variants of de one-piece swimsuit, incwuding hawterneck stywes and pwunge front swimsuits, as weww as wrap-round ("surpwice") and bandeau stywes. The pretzew suit is anoder stywe of de one-piece swimsuit. Recentwy, adwetic swimsuits have used a variety of new shouwder strap stywes, incwuding de racerback, fastback, and fwyback stywes, some of which have awso been used on oder adwetic wear. Anoder recent innovation in one-piece swimsuits is de bodyskin, which superficiawwy resembwes a unitard or wetsuit. Awdough dese cover de entire torso, arms, and wegs, deir function is not modesty, but reducing friction drough de water for professionaw swimmers. Their surfaces are made of textured technicaw fabrics which are engineered to cut drough de water in de same way as fish or shark skin, uh-hah-hah-hah.

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The modern one-piece swimsuit made its appearance in de mid-1900s, when de stywe was widewy described as a maiwwot. Its widespread acceptance is attributed to Austrawian swimmer Annette Kewwerman, who attracted furder attention to de stywe when, in 1907, she was arrested on a Boston beach for indecent exposure because her swimsuit showed arms, wegs and de neck, a costume she adopted from Engwand,[2] and which was simiwar to men's swimsuits of de time. The arrest prompted a wide pubwic outrage which added to de acceptance of de stywe. Kewwerman marketed dese bading suits and de stywe came to be known as "de Annette Kewwerman". The one-piece swimsuit became accepted swimsuit attire for women in parts of Europe by 1910,[3] and oder pwaces, and was de audorised attire for women's swimming at de 1912 Summer Owympics, de first at which women competed.

Harper's Bazaar praised de Kewwerman swimsuit, writing in June 1920 (vow. 55, no. 6, p. 138): "Annette Kewwerman Bading Attire is distinguished by an incomparabwe, daring beauty of fit dat awways remains refined." The fowwowing year, in June 1921 (vow. 54, no. 2504, p. 101), it wrote dat dese bading suits were "famous ... for deir perfect fit and exqwisite, pwastic beauty of wine".[2] In de United States, beauty pageants of women in bading costumes became popuwar from de 1880s. However, such events were not regarded as respectabwe. Beauty contests became more respectabwe wif de first modern "Miss America" contest hewd in 1921, dough wess respectabwe beauty contests continued to be hewd. Neverdewess, de Annette Kewwerman continued to be considered by some as de most offensive stywe of swimsuit in de 1920s and became de focus of censorship efforts.[4][5] Even in 1943, pictures of de Kewwerman swimsuit were produced as evidence of indecency in Esqwire v. Wawker, Postmaster Generaw.[6][7]

A modern one-piece swimwear wif cut-outs

During de 1920s and 1930s, peopwe began to shift from "taking in de water" to "taking in de sun", at badhouses and spas, and swimsuit designs shifted from functionaw considerations to incorporate more decorative features. Rayon was used in de 1920s in de manufacture of tight-fitting swimsuits,[8] but its durabiwity, especiawwy when wet, proved probwematic,[9] wif jersey and siwk awso sometimes being used.[10]

By de 1930s, de neckwines of women's swimwear pwunged at de back, sweeves disappeared, and sides were cut away and tightened. Wif de devewopment of new cwoding materiaws, particuwarwy watex and nywon, drough de 1930s, swimsuits graduawwy began hugging de body, wif shouwder straps dat couwd be wowered for tanning.[11]
Since de 1960s, de bikini has increasingwy found popuwar acceptance, dough de one-piece swimsuit has maintained a pwace on beaches to dis day. Heim's two-piece has fawwen out of fashion, uh-hah-hah-hah.